Entries - Entry Category: Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform (1968-2022)

Founded in Rogers (Benton County) in 1997, Americans for an Immigration Moratorium (AIM) was an organization that worked to influence a series of American immigration reforms. Founder Dan Morris sought increased regulations and additional scrutiny for both legal and illegal immigration due to what Morris referred to as a mass immigration to northwestern Arkansas throughout the 1990s. AIM’s primary goal was a complete halt to U.S. immigration for a five-year period. In 1988, Morris and his family relocated to Rogers from Albuquerque, New Mexico, looking to put down roots in the quiet yet prosperous area. During the 1990s, the northwestern Arkansas area had a high rate of employment coupled with an affordable cost of living, which positioned the region as …

John O’Donnell, a Roman Catholic priest, served as pastor in various parishes across Arkansas in a career that spanned over sixty years. During that time, he also became known for his work on social justice and civil rights, sometimes being labeled a renegade. Unafraid to speak his mind, he stood up for his beliefs even when it made him unpopular. In a 2015 Arkansas Catholic article, he said, “My viewpoint was that we ought to be at the forefront of peace and racial justice and common sense and respect….We must live and act as we believe. I think the church or the priest should be there promoting justice.” John F. O’Donnell, the youngest son of Irish immigrants Henry and Bridgett …

Edward Leroy Whitfield was a leader in one of the most notable civil rights protests of the 1960s, a takeover by Black students of the student union at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He has spent his life as a civil rights and labor activist and teacher. Ed Whitfield was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) on June 25, 1949, to Robert Ellis Whitfield Sr. and Winifred McLemore Whitfield. His father was a janitor, then mail handler, at the Federal Building in Little Rock. His mother was a schoolteacher and part-time administrator at Booker T. Washington Elementary School. Whitfield was the youngest of four children, having two brothers, Robert Jr. and Richard, and one sister, Winifred. Whitfield’s paternal great-grandfather, …